This invention relates generally to the field of solar collectors for conversion of solar energy to space heating and more specifically, to a solar collector which is supported by a fan inflated structure and which uses a liquid for the collection of solar energy.
This nation faces a major problem in conservation of energy, a problem commanding sharply increasing priorities as petroleum feedstocks become scare and alternate energy sources, such as nuclear power encounter political resistance or technological problems. In addition, due to the rapidly rising energy costs of petroleum energy, alternate energy sources such as solar energy is receiving considerable attention. Although solar energy is widespread and abundant, it is not without its problems. For instance, for applications such as greenhouse heating, the typical solar collector is generally too expensive to justify its use. Although several low cost inflatable solar collectors have been proposed, they typically use air as the solar energy collecting medium. As air has little inherent storage capacity, the designs are generally inapplicable for nighttime space or greenhouse heating.